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Rare Birds

Play trailer Poster for Rare Birds R 2002 1h 44m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
54% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Dave is ready to call it quits on his marriage and his restaurant. His wife has left him and the restaurant, The Auk, has never really taken off. Desperate, Dave tries to consume the rare delights of his restaurant before they are repossessed. All seems lost until Dave's neighbor, Phonse, proposes a mad scheme to save The Auk. They will announce the presence, in the vicinity of the restaurant, of an extremely rare duck, attracting bird watchers the world over.

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Rare Birds

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/03/2003
3/4
Whimsical and touching. Go to Full Review Allison Benedikt Chicago Tribune 10/02/2003
1.5/4
Rendered bland and frustrating by its endless attempts to make the odd odder. Go to Full Review Ty Burr Boston Globe 10/04/2002
2/4
The movie keeps coming back to the achingly unfunny Phonce and his several silly subplots. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 03/09/2019
Comes up fowl. Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 07/22/2005
2/5
Chris Hewitt St. Paul Pioneer Press 05/23/2003
3/4
Even if you don't know a wren from a grackle, there are pleasures here. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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02/27/2020 I'm not a fan of the rom-com genre, but the wry humor that pervades this picture just tickles my fancy. Oh, and Molly Parker. See more Michael B @BlackCloud13 06/05/2013 Cute and charming film with quirky characters and small-town magic. As usual, the introduction of drugs to the story is unnecessary and hurts the movie. See more 07/05/2012 Cute little film set in a sleepy Newfoundland town that is set upon by outsiders all in searchof an elusive bird. Touching with good character interaction. See more 09/27/2011 I was very happily surprised. I adored it. Charming. See more 04/19/2011 Pointy birds, oh pointy pointy See more 03/19/2010 Shot in beautiful Newfoundland by Icelandic director Sturla Gunnarsson. Based on the novel by Canadian Edward Riche, who also wrote the screenplay. Stars Molly Parker, a wonderful Canadian actress. See more Read all reviews
Rare Birds

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Cast & Crew

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Sturla Gunnarsson

Director

William Hurt

Dave Purcell

Andy Jones

Phonse

Molly Parker

Alice

Vicky Hynes

Deb

Greg Malone

Buster Bartlett

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Rare Birds

Rare Birds (2001) Rare Birds (2001) Rare Birds (2001) DIRECTOR Sturla Gunnarsson. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Dave is ready to call it quits on his marriage and his restaurant. His wife has left him and the restaurant, The Auk, has never really taken off. Desperate, Dave tries to consume the rare delights of his restaurant before they are repossessed. All seems lost until Dave's neighbor, Phonse, proposes a mad scheme to save The Auk. They will announce the presence, in the vicinity of the restaurant, of an extremely rare duck, attracting bird watchers the world over.
Director
Sturla Gunnarsson
Screenwriter
Edward Riche
Distributor
Studio Home Entertainment, Shadow Distribution, Lionsgate Films, Nexo, Kinowelt Home Entertainment [de]
Production Co
Pope Productions, Rare Productions Ltd. [ca], Big Pictures Entertainment
Rating
R (Language|Drug Use)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 1, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$17.8K
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)